Today at the D23 Expo, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced that Black Panther 2 will be released in theaters on May 6, 2022. Feige also announced that director Ryan Coogler, who directed the critically acclaimed award-winning film Marvel Studios' "Black Panther", will return to direct the sequel.

Of course, the trades already scooped that Coogler would return back when Ta'Challa was "dead" after Infinity War.

But it's good that he is, and nice to know the release date. It's also not surprising at all that they have upgraded it to the May release slot, which is usually reserved for what they think will be their biggest movie of the year, rather than the February slot the last movie received.

On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the film's box office performance; in addition to the fact that it was sensational, part of the reason the first film was able to play and play and play for so long is because there wasn't very much else in terms of big movies on the schedule between its release in February and the release of Infinity War in the end of April. Because the second one is being placed in May, it will almost certainly contend with a much more stacked slate of summer blockbuster hopefuls.

Some people had guessed that Guardians 3 would go in May 2022, but since Black Panther is there now, I expect that Guardians will end up in May 2023 (which, coincidentally, should roughly sync up with its timeline because it will obviously take place post-Endgame.) A 2023 slot for it might seem like a long way away, but would probably be the cleanest allow James Gunn to complete his obligations to Suicide Squad before starting Guardians.

Now that Black Panther 2 has taken that May 6, 2022 slot, I wonder what Marvel is planning for the February and July 2022 slots. Maybe Blade in February and Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3, in July? What a great time to be a Marvel fan!

"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirate’s loot on Treasure Island."

Right, I can see Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol 3 coming out in July, 2022. I think waiting until 2023 is too long.

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I hope Guardians will get the July slot, but if James Gunn is taking another pass at the screenplay (as his brother Sean suggested recently), it might take until 2023, which would be a very long 6 years between Vol. 2 and 3.

Technically, yes, but the Guardians were so central to Infinity War and Endgame that it will only be four years since we've seen them last. Plus, since Thor is now coming out first, they could end up appearing in that movie in the meantime, which would be only a two-year gap since Endgame.

As much as I love the Guardians, I'd rather have Gunn take his time and get it in 2023 than rush it for 2022, if those are the options. It seems like a long wait now, but once it's out, no one will care how long it took. We'll care if it's good, and if they need until 2023 to make it the best version of itself, that's fine by me.

Similarly, I appreciate Coogler taking his time on Black Panther because the first one set such a high bar and they have a lot to live up to with the sequel. It had to be tempting for Marvel to slate it for 2021, but I'm glad they're not doing that.